South Korea license plate: Commercial long

Format, years and the law

Format

999999, for example 249813 (9 any digit)

The only current Korean plate with geography: two syllables name the province, two digits the class, and 바, 사, 아 or 자 mark transport business, 배 joined them by 2019 and is popularly read as the parcel-van syllable, though the notice never says so.

바

자동차운수사업용 일반용 (transport business, taxi, route bus, hire truck)

사

자동차운수사업용 일반용 (transport business)

아

자동차운수사업용 일반용 (transport business)

자

자동차운수사업용 일반용 (transport business)

배

자동차운수사업용 일반용 (transport business, added by 2019; folk-read as the delivery syllable)

The format above follows the issuing rules: a registration that fits it is one this series could have issued.

Years issued

Documented since 2009; the format is likely older than the first year documented. Still issued.

Vehicle class

Taxi: for-hire vehicles where separately serialized or colored. Issued for car, bus, van, and truck.

Colours

Characters #393D45 Background #FFBC00

Size

520 × 110 mm · every country's size

About this plate

THE YELLOW COMMERCIAL PLATE, and the only current Korean plate that tells you where the vehicle is registered. Do NOT read a yellow plate as a rental car: rentals are white and region-less (Art. 6 proviso) and use 허/하/호.

About the format

Digit skeleton only; printed mark is 서울52바3108 (Annex 4's own sample), two-syllable authority mark, two class digits, hangul use syllable, four serial digits.

Legal basis and sources

1. Annex 4 drawing: 자동차 운수 사업용 보통 등록 번호판 520x110 mm, cells 32|55(authority)|55 55|71|55 55 55 55|32, character height 83 mm, authority syllables 55 mm each, sample 서울52바3108 https://www.law.go.kr/LSW/flDownload.do?flSeq=158474371
2. Art. 4(1)2 (yellow ground, black characters), Art. 5(1) 일반사업용 ranges, Art. 6 main clause https://www.law.go.kr/DRF/lawService.do?OC=test&target=admrul&ID=2100000256300&type=XML
3. 시행규칙 제6조제2항, the authority mark is MANDATORY on transport-business plates, rental excepted https://www.law.go.kr/DRF/lawService.do?OC=test&target=law&LM=%EC%9E%90%EB%8F%99%EC%B0%A8%EA%B4%80%EB%A6%AC%EB%B2%95%...
4. law.go.kr https://www.law.go.kr/DRF/lawService.do?OC=test&target=admrul&ID=2000000009069&type=XML